Tintic, Empire Mines

Jesse Knight Makes Statement Regarding Consolidation of Tintic Properties

"Since the organization of the Empire Mines Company, I have bought the old Carisa mine, one of the oldest in Tintic. It has had ore continuously either on the surface or near the surface, for some three thousand feet on the strike of the vein, and no one has ever mined the -property at any great depth.

"I spent a great deal of time in Tintic thirty-five or forty years ago in trying to find mines, and from that day to this I remember very distinctly the old Spy Mine, which now belongs to the Carisa. At that time they sank on the Spy 900 feet and in the bottom of the shaft there were caves and copper stains on the walls and I could not helping thinking 'Why in the world don't they go deeper?' and in fact made this remark to the superintendent, adding that it seemed to me they would surely find deeper seated ore. However, no one has done any work on the property to either prove or disprove my theory, and I -have bought the Carisa, with the intention of sinking from their present shaft. I have had the deed made out direct to the Empire Mines company, intending to offer this to the Empire Mines on a fair basis, when considered with prices paid for other properties turned into the new-company.

"I would like to run three drifts from the Lower Mammoth deep workings; one to go out into the Central Mammoth ground to cut the continuation of the Centennial and Eureka Gem Channel, which was disclosed through our deep work in the Opex Consolidated. Considerable work was done on the Opex ground high up on the mountain, and connection was made with the Centennial and Eureka for ventilation purposes. This work showed a big ore body on the Centennial & Eureka within 100 feet of our end line. They had followed it already some 3,000 feet in their own property, along a slick wall and porphyry dyke. This same slick wall and porphyry dyke continued as far as we worked in the Opex ground, and so far as I or anyone else was able to see it was identical with the conditions in the Centennial & Eureka as it struck southward from the Opex territory.

"The Opex shaft is 2300 feet deep, but the collar of the shaft is high up on the mountain. In buying the Lower Mammoth property, I had in mind using the Lower Mammoth shaft to develop the Gem Channel at -greater depth, with much less cost, and also some 1,500 or 2,000 feet further south than where it was cut in the Opex territory. As before stated, we did considerable work in the Opex on this porphyry dyke as it struck south through the Opex. but although we failed to find any ore, I have thought all the time that by following this fissure south it would make other ore bodies. The porphyry dyke does not show on the surface nor did it in the Centennial & Eureka, but they have worked along this same channel, according to my understanding, for the last forty or fifty years, and found different ore bodies along this system.

"When we gave up working the Opex some years ago, I commenced then buying more property and corporations farther south, very cheaply, as I thought, with a view of some day consolidating these interests and working the country south more economically. The Empire Mines company is a realization of my plans.

"Commencing with the Opex, which it now owns, which joins the Centennial & Eureka near the top of the mountain and circles around to the Dragon Iron and Black Jack ground, then on around to the old Carisa, making a distance of some three miles of ground in a very desirable territory now owned by the Empire Mines. For a good share of this distance our property covers the contact between! the porphyry and lime.

"As already stated, it is my desire to run out from the Lower Mammoth at least three different drifts; one to cut the continuation on the Centennial & Eureka ore channel going south; one to run south to cut some copper stain that shows on the Damificare ridge. There is good lime rock and much copper stain in this ground, that I have known of for the last thirty years, and I have always thought that some day I would like to own and prospect this property. We also intend running another drift with this, to cut the Black Jack fissure some 600 or 800 feet deeper-than we can explore them from the old Black Jack shaft. We had ore in the deepest workings of the Black Jack; also an open fissured country, but we were not prepared to go deeper with the Black Jack equipment, and as I hardly thought that the most advantageous point for deeper equipment. I have been waiting for this favorable opportunity to develop the ground more advantageously.

It is also my desire and intention to sink the old Spy shaft now belonging to the Carisa company, as I have always had strong faith in deep ore channels in that territory. In fact some fifteen years ago I bought the Spy mine with the intention then of sinking their main shaft. Soon after the purchase, however, we had a chance to sell it and double our money making us a clean profit of $25,000.00. While I would personally rather have had the property, and done the deeper development work, my associates urged that doubling our money was good enough and we had better let it go. The Carisa company was the purchaser, and ever since that time I have occasionally thought I would like to get back title to that property' to carry out my ideas on deeper development.

"Now the Empire Mines company has only about $10,000.00 to do all this work with, but we have nearly two million shares of treasury stock, and I am going to recommend to the board at its meeting on the 10th of May that we offer 30,000 shares of treasury stock to the public at $1.00 a share, that being the ground floor price to me for that my Empire Mines company stock has cost me, and I think this is ground floor to practically all of its stockholders.

"While I am credited with being of a generous term of mind, this-is the first time that I have been willing to let the public in on ground floor where I felt that I had a sure thing. Anyone who wants to help develop the country can do so and at the same time, in my judgment, make a very profitable investment, by buying this stock at $1.00 a share. I have never been in the habit of recommending to anyone how they should spend their money in buying mining stocks for the natural fear that they might lose. In this particular case, however, I do not think there is any chance to lose unless the holders of Empire Mines stock get in too big a hurry to sell. We have so many places we could prospect for finding deeper ore that I never felt more sure of any mining proposition in my life than I am that this stock is worth One Dollar a share. Should we find ore where I firmly believe we will, the stock has a good chance to go to $5.00 or $10.00 a share.

"Of course, this is some of my optimism, and the people will all take it for what it is worth, realizing that no man can see in the ground until there is a hole dug.

"Up to date, I am president and general manager of the Empire Mines company, and I have a great deal of pride in keeping my reputation good. So many stockholders feel as if they were not getting the worth of their money, that is why I am making this long statement, feeling it is somewhat of a duty to the smaller stockholders.

"This Empire Mines company's holdings consist of Opex Consolidated Mines company, Lower Mammoth Mining company, Tennessee Rebel Mining company, Central Mammoth Mining company, Garnet Mining company, Old Colony & Eureka Mining company, Black Jack Consolidated Mining company, and without much doubt the Carisa Mining company may still take in some other mining properties with some of our treasury stock. All of these corporations and mining claims are patented, clear titled, and no debt."

Provo. May 17. - Mr. Knight has always had great faith in this part of the district and showed his faith by his works when he rounded up 700 acres of patented ground and organized the Empire Mines company, and further by buying 50,000 shares of the treasury stock in the meeting of the directors held on May 10. He states that the company did not need the money, but might need it to prosecute the big development campaign, which has been undertaken, and then he bought it at 40 cents a share, regarding it a good investment.

Mr. Knight said that development work will be undertaken at five different points as a beginning. Two drifts are already being run and three more will be started next week. The two on which work is now being done are one from the Lower Mammoth ground into the Black Jack to open the Black Jack 600 feet lower than work previously done on that property, and the other running north in the Lower Mammoth ground to open the Gem channel of the Centennial Eureka which, it is believed, extends into Empire Mines ground and from which great quantities of ore have been taken by the Centennial Eureka.

The drifts on which work is about to be commenced are two from the Iron Blossom into the Carisa ground, one on the 1500 and one on the 1900 level; a third drift will be from the Old Star shaft into Central Mammoth ground.

Leasers are taking out ore from the Black Jack and the Lower Mammoth, which will help the company to pay development expenses, and, in addition, the company has cash in the treasury and 1,500,000 shares of treasury stock to draw on for development purposes.

The following report, just sent out to the shareholders of the Empire Mines Company, confirms the report that the Tintic Standard Company assisted in financing the campaign of work recently taken up in the Empire Mines ground and makes it certain that the control has or will pass to the Standard.

The report which follows is signed by J. William Knight and R. E. Allen, president and secretary respectively for the Empire Mines:

"At a meeting of the directors just recently held it was decided to resume operations at the company's property and work was immediately started in fixing up the equipment at the Lower Mammoth shaft. This shaft has a depth of 2000 feet and is equipped with a 200 h.p. electric hoist, the necessary cables, cages, cars, trackage and air lines, in fact, everything to be used in the development of the property.

"At the time work was discontinued some few years ago they had just completed driving a drift some 3000 feet east from the 1800 foot level of the Lower Mammoth shaft.

"The Empire Mines holdings consist of approximately 800 acres of ground, surrounded by such famous producers as the Mammoth, Grand Central, Iron Blossom and Dragon. The territory that is to be developed at this time comprises a section of the company's property in which very little work has been done and which now apparently proves to be some of the best undeveloped territory in the Tintic district, having to the north of it the Mammoth Mining Company now developing a very large body of newly discovered ore.

"It is our intention to continue a very active campaign of development work and in order to do this it is necessary for us to dispose of the remaining shares of the treasury stock which will be offered to the stockholders of the company.

"We might also state that the Tintic Standard Mining company has just recently purchased a considerable block of Empire Mines Company stock and will be represented on our board of directors."